Footsteps in the Sand
Chapter Five
"Give me your gun, Jack," the Doctor said, a smile still playing on his face. The Master was trying to stifle a laugh.
Jack hesitated, but he trusted the Doctor and so he reached into his holster and handed the Doctor his gun.
It looked natural in the Doctor's grip, and he starred at it lovingly. Jack had never seen him with a weapon, it was something he had hated vehemently since Jack had known him.
"Thank you, Jack," said the Doctor sadly, then he looked Jack in the eyes and shot him in the shoulder.
Jack fell to the floor and looked in shock at the Doctor, but before he could stutter a question, the Doctor shot him another four times - purposefully keeping him alive, toying with his pain.
The Master burst out laughing now, and the Doctor smiled like a clever child. Then the Doctor turned and shot at the nearest person at the table, it was the man with the beak - his face hit the table and the others screamed, the man grunted in pain. He went to shoot again but was over come with a laughing fit like the Master's and stumbled into one of the barricading dancers.
He immediately felt the electricity pulse through him and sparks burst like lightening as he touched the dancer.
His hearts jolted and stopped.
The Master found this incredibly funny.
Then the Doctor sat up, his hair standing a little more on end than usual, his clothes smouldering, his hearts beating once again in their normal rhythm. The drumming had faded, his eyes returned to their aching sanity. He stood, and as the tears of laughter were rubbed from the Master's eyes he saw the stony face of the Doctor , standing now, before him.
"Oh," he said, "well that didn't last long."
The Doctor loomed sadly over Jack.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he said with heavy sadness.
Jack nodded, knowing what had to be done.
The Doctor raised the gun and shot Jack in the head. Then he opened up the gun with an eerily practiced and tore out its 51st century components, and he threw it to the floor with disdain.
"Oh my God, you killed Kenny!" giggled the Master, "but, back to business!" the Master rang, reaching once again for the sonic screw driver in his pocket.
"What - ?" the Doctor shouted as the Master again clicked a button and the screwdriver extended.
"Bang," explained the Master, raising his eyebrows in wonder that the Doctor hadn't already grasped this simple idea.
The Doctor swiftly aimed his own sonic screwdriver, but the Master merely smiled.
"Screw you, Doctor," he punned with a stifled laugh, "mine's bigger."
The Doctor's screwdriver whirred and burst into flames, burning the Doctor's hand - he looked aghast as it fell to the floor.
Jack heaved a breath and sat up straight.
"Oh just in time, Captain," saluted the Master.
Jack grimaced a frown.
"Bang," explained the Master again, nodding his head towards the sonic screwdriver raised dramatically above his head.
He went to press the red button on the side -
"Oh but first," said the Master, he reached into his other pocket and twiddled a small device, the red carpet began to shift.
There was a moment of awkward silence, the kind normally filled by elevator music. The Master grinned a 'bear-with-me' smile and rolled his eyes.
The Doctor took his moment, technology was useless now - the Doctor ran at the Master. They would fight as they had when they were children, but with contempt now.
A dancer jumped before him and struck the Doctor with its electrical body. Both fell to the floor.
The Doctor groaned and faced the Master.
"Down boy! I did warn you Doctor! You've stood before and watched…watched them all burn. Watch now, Doctor.".
Then the TARDIS appeared at speed along the carpet, and stopped next to the Master. It was what he'd been waiting for.
"My escape!" he smiled "what am I like?"
Then he pressed the button.
They both stepped quickly backwards as the new golden sand started to tremble and rise in lumps, only to collapse and swell again. It started to take shape - the shape of a person. A young boy began to climb out of the sand, glowing golden with the hot, trembling sand still upon him. The sand fell from his face and hair first, and a thin, handsome face emerged with a shock of dark hair. The boy scrambled out of the sand as though being chased, his bright blue eyes were fearful. Jack stepped backwards as the unearthly child emerged.
The boy stood on thin legs, still facing the golden pit from which he had emerged his expression was hidden by his thick hair, but the Doctor sensed strong emotions of fear and intrigue - it was what drove him to run. The golden sand seemed to have stopped engulfing the red planet, and was sunken now in the middle where the child had been spat out. The boy ran towards the Doctor and Jack, still looking back he hadn't seemed to notice them, and he pelted directly into Jack who was fumbling backwards over the sand in an effort to avoid the child.
The boy bumped into the man and fell backwards to the floor. Sand stuck in his thick hair like stars, his tanned face looked up at the two men.
"Doctor -" Jack started, without taking his eyes off the child, but the child was looking intently at the Doctor.
The Doctor crouched down and looked the boy in the eyes. It had made both his hearts squirm. At first sight he had though it was his son - a son from lifetimes ago, long gone. But this boy was older, although he looked only about eight, he was much, much older in the Doctor's mind.
Jack automatically pulled out his gun, it was cold to his touch, not working anymore, but he held it up anyway.
"Who are you?" asked Jack, breaking the lifeless sound of the tundra.
The boy's eyes flicked fearfully at Jack, who sighed and softened his tone.
"What's your name?"
The boy opened his mouth to speak, but the Doctor stood up quickly and silenced the boy with a glance.
"Put it away Jack," the Doctor said tiredly seeing Jack's broken gun.
Jack hesitated.
"He can't hurt us," the Doctor said loudly, "He's just a memory," and he walked towards the TARDIS.
A short temper? Is this who I am, wondered the Doctor.
Jack stood there rather bemused.
"A memory? Memories are dangerous, Doctor," Jack shouted as the Time Lord moved with renewed vigour towards the TARDIS, he silently cursed not getting a more talkative Doctor.
"I know," the Doctor returned sorrowfully.
To be continued...
Thanks for reading :) The next chapter will be the last, coming soon!